Higher Percentage of Blacks Seek Education than Whites

From the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education comes news that 32 percent of black people over age three were enrolled in an education program. In contrast, only 24 percent of white people were registered in some form of school. The article explains that:

Since the end of slavery when prohibitions against blacks learning to read and write were abolished, African Americans have shown a strong thirst for education. This continues today.

This is no doubt true, but is it really the most salient explanation for this surprising statistic? It seems to be in contrast with well known information about black high school graduation and college attendance rates.

Of course, realistically, it is difficult to draw a firm conclusion from this information, which comes from the U.S. Census. But it’s worth pointing out that the black population is also younger than the rest of the country. At least in part due to the low life expectancy of blacks, about 31 percent of American black population is younger than 18. Only a quarter of the whole population is younger than 18.

Considering education in the United States is compulsory for people between, roughly, ages five and seventeen, the new statistic about black education appears somewhat less significant.